


Study Group

by ThatGirlTheyKnow



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-21
Updated: 2012-12-11
Packaged: 2017-11-14 17:58:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/517983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGirlTheyKnow/pseuds/ThatGirlTheyKnow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When their English class is assigned study groups, Loki finds himself in the company of Thor and his friends. If that wasn't bad enough, Tony Stark has suddenly taken an interest in being his friend, and won't take "no" for an answer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Loki Odinson walked into his first class of the year with scowl on his face that didn't show any signs of leaving. He walked, gracefully and seemingly unaware of the looks he was getting, to the back of the classroom and sat in the furthest corner he could, preparing himself mentally for another year of putting up with the idiots he could not escape in this place. Everywhere he looked, he saw footballers, cheerleaders and several groups of people living up to the stereotypes that they had been labelled with. SHEILD High (he'd long since given up remembering what that stood for) was the type of place that belonged in a movie, and Loki hated it. Here, if you didn't fit in with at least one group of people, you were labelled an outcast. And being an outcast was just about as close to certain death as you could get- you'd face constant bullying and torment from the people who considered themselves popular.

Loki was an outcast.

To his right, Loki heard his brother, Thor, and Steve Rogers laughing over some joke. They were the perfect example of the football player cliché, a breed the dark haired boy particularly despised. Tall, blonde and muscular, they were at the top of the foodchain, along with Clint Barton and Bruce Banner, who were slightly quieter but no less popular. Bruce Banner was an interesting one, Loki mused. He was the most introverted jock he'd ever seen, and even more shocking was the fact that he was one of the most intelligent people in the school. He was best friends with Tony Stark, who, speak of the devil, had just walked through the door and without saying anything, immediately demanded the attention of the whole class.

Tony Stark wasn't a mystery to Loki-who suspected his main claim to popularity was his father's name- as most people made him out to be; someone whose mind was a puzzle that they wanted to solve. The billionaire's son was, by all rights, a genius. He was up there with Banner and Loki himself, and that in itself demanded respect. He wasn't on the football team, but he was the school's token playboy. Yes, it must have been his money, then. He was attractive, sure, but so were plenty of less popular boys who had better looks who didn't get as much action.

Loki hated Stark with a burning passion. He'd known the boy for most of his life- their parents ran in the same circles, and at one point, they'd been friends. That was, until about the time they were ten and Tony decided to become a loud, attention-seeking jerk, and Loki became a quiet, introverted social pariah… And a jerk, if he was being honest, because you don't spend your entire high school career friendless without having a few defensive mechanisms like snark, sarcasm, and occasionally (possibly needless) cruelty.

The teacher, a serious young woman called Miss Hill, walked to the front of the class and shouted for quiet. She got it, because everyone knew Miss Hill could verbally kick your ass if you misbehaved too much while she was teaching. There were even rumours that she could physically kick your ass, and Loki didn't doubt it for a minute.

"This year in English," she began, glaring out at the class. "There are going to be a few changes. I expect every single one of you to pass this year, and therefore, I am putting an old system back in place. _Study groups_."

Several members of the class, including Loki, groaned (though his was quiet and less obnoxious, thank you very much). Study groups were something they had been forced to endure in their freshman year- groups of students, not necessarily friends, who were forced to sit together in class and were expected to study together at least once a week. Protests about social calendars and social standing came from around the room, but Hill would have none of it. With a slightly evil looking smirk, she told them at their study groups would be on the senior notice board at lunch.

Loki spent the rest of the class not paying attention to the actual course outline they were being informed on, and choosing instead to pray to every god he knew that he would be with bearable people. While he didn't have friends, he did have an extensive list of people he would rather cut off his own leg than to work with in English, and study with once a week, all year _. All. Year._ If he could be stuck with quiet people who didn't hate him and he didn't hate back, he could at least handle this without trying to either kill himself, or everyone else in his group.

By the end of his second class, Drama (that Loki took despite the fact that it was filled with loud, annoying buffoons), and at the beginning of the lunch hour, Loki had worked himself into a worry about who he would be forced to socialize with. He almost ran to the senior notice board outside the cafeteria, but there was a large crowd surrounding it and he was pushed unceremoniously into Jane Foster, Thor's girlfriend, who shot him an annoyed glance before her face softened when she realized who he was. Jane was not particularly bad, Loki supposed, as far as Thor's girlfriends went. She was the most intelligent and bearable, by far. That did not mean Loki didn't hate her, because he hated everyone associated with Thor, but he stopped himself glaring at the girl, at least.

When he finally reached the board, Loki didn't both hiding his groan of despair at his study group.

 _Thor Odinson_  
Loki Odinson  
Bruce Banner  
Steve Rogers  
Anthony Stark  
Natasha Romanoff  
Clint Barton

"Ha!" came a familiar voice beside his ear. Loki turned his head around to glare at Tony Stark, who had a shit eating grin on his face the taller boy wanted to smack off. "Looks like we're stuck with each other all year, Odinson."

Loki sniffed. "I would rather you kill me now, Stark, than wait for my inevitable suicide after spending any prolonged period of time in your presence."

The other boy looked a little surprised, which Loki guessed was reasonable. Though they were not friends any more, Stark had never, like the other popular guys, gone out of his way to cause problems in the other boy's life. They mostly ignored each other these days, as they were expected to. A small part of Loki's brain wondered what people thought, seeing them making eye contact, let alone talking.

The shorter boy grinned again. "Admit it, Odinson, you love me."

Loki cursed Stark's ability to shrug off any and all insults, and walked away without another word. He prayed that the other boy wouldn't talk to him again.

* * *

The first meeting of their study group could have gone better. Which is, it could have not happened, and they could have  _lied_  about it happening, but Steve Rogers was, in Stark's words "a fucking goodie-two-shoes" (they were friends, but Stark was always one to be blatantly truthful about, well, everything) and had insisted they comply to their teachers expectations. The rest went along with it because they were  _friends_ , and Loki was again the odd one out. He must have been put in this group because of Thor, he decided, which made him a bit bitter. He hated being known as "Thor Odinson's brother".

Well, he hated being known in general, but still.

They met in the library at the end of the second day of classes, and everyone else was already there by the time Loki showed up, having taken his time. Of course they were. Miss Hill had a soft spot for Steve, and would have made sure he was with his closest friends, so of course they probably arrived together.

Natasha Romanoff gave Loki a polite greeting when he sat down in the only available seat at the table- between Thor and Stark (just his luck). She was nice enough, a gymnast and cheerleader, and the best friend of Clint Barton. She had fiery red hair, dark eyes with a face that was set in a permanently serious expression and a body that most women would kill for. If Loki was so inclined, maybe he would have appreciated it a bit more. Even still, he respected her for being the only cheerleader who didn't dress in revealing clothes and throw herself at football players, and for her quick wit and intelligence.

Next to her was Barton, who glared at Loki. He had hated the quieter boy ever since freshman year, for an incident Loki neither cared about nor remembered. The boy was a little shorter than average, with sandy blonde hair and a face that was either grinning or in set in a stern glare. He used to be on the football team, but had quit for archery, and everyone had to admit it suited him better. He was close with Stark and Banner, and Loki knew for a fact that he and Bruce were sleeping together secretly. He'd seen them in a very compromising position at a party of Thor's, and the clues were there for those who looked for them.

Bruce Banner smiled shyly at Loki. The Odinson suspected the boy, who obviously preferred books and science (and boys) to football and girls, was only on the football team because he would be eaten alive without the status boost. Sure, he played well, but when not on the field he could easily be mistaken for ( _gasp_ ) a nerd, if he didn't hang out with people like Steven Rogers, who was sitting across from him.

Rogers was a nice guy, plain and simple. Loki had no idea how a teenage boy in this day and age could manage to be such a blushing virgin, but this boy defied all expectations. He was determined to be fair and nice to everyone, so he gave Loki a forced grin and shook his hand. Loki would have preferred it if he'd not tried to smile, but he couldn't begrudge the boy for at least trying to be civil. Or, he could, because there were plenty of times Rogers has witnessed Loki being bullied, whether verbally or physically, and had never had the balls to do anything about it. That, however, had been years ago and he'd noticed the blonde had stopped hanging out with that group, so he wondered if he was being nice to try to make up for it.

Thor didn't speak to Loki, which the others may have found odd, or not, depending on what Thor had told them. Thor and Loki hadn't spoken civilly since it was revealed Loki was _adopted_ , or maybe since Thor had gone off and started being a jerk with Stark when they hit puberty. There was an uncomfortable pang in Loki's chest as he recalled when they were close, but he shoved it off. He didn't want to be thinking things like that, things that made him vulnerable, while surrounded by these people.

Last but not least there was Stark, who broke off his conversation with Banner as Loki sat down and offered him a sly grin. Loki gritted his teeth, amazed how the boy's mere presence could irritate him, and offered him a polite nod. Stark raised an eyebrow, but Loki ignored him as Rogers started addressing the group.

"Uh, so guys, I have this sheet Miss Hill gave us. It's apparently going to be exactly like freshman year; we have to each fill in a thing at the end of the year about how, uh, we think we worked as a group and how much we've grown, all that. Our first suggested 'activity' is looking at our English homework for the day and see if we need any help with it." He looked up from the paper. "Guys? Anyone need help?"

There were negative answers because no matter what Loki thought of these people, they were actually all intelligent, and eventually, they set out to work on their individual work together. Loki had already finished his homework last night, so he took out a spare notebook and started doodling while conversation struck up between the friends around him. He decided he wanted Miss Hill to burn in hell for putting him with these people who obviously needed no  _bonding_. There wasn't a weekend that went by where these people didn't grace his house with their presence.

"That's not English homework." a voice came from beside him. Too close. Loki glared at Stark who was leaning over to look at what he was drawing. He covered the drawing with his hand.

"I already finished it. Kindly shut up? I don't want this hour and a half to go be any more unbearable as it already is just by you being here."

"Ouch," the billionaire put on a mock hurt look. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Existed?" Loki spat out, and maybe he was being a little harsh, but he wasn't used to being talked to, at all, by people who weren't his mother or online friends, and there was something about the fact that Stark was talking to him that rubbed him the wrong way. Rudeness was safe, he decided. Rudeness didn't show any vulnerability in the case that this was all a part of an elaborate plan to humiliate him. Stark looked genuinely shocked at his answer however, and was frowning. Loki continued, "Can you just let me be? We don't actually have to socialize, you know. This is a  _children's_ activity."

"Why do you hate me so much?" the billionaire asked quietly. His eyes were searching Loki's face for any sign of what the taller boy was thinking, but Loki knew he couldn't find any. He'd spent the last five years perfecting indifference, and he wasn't about to let Stark see that he didn't actually have an answer to that. Why did he hate Stark? Surely it was because of their old friendship being broken off, or because the boy was popular, Loki was not, and that was just the way of the world.

Loki ignored him. He packed up his books and left without a word, ignoring the curious looks he got from his study group as he strode out of the library.

"What was that all about?" Bruce asked Tony as they watched Loki leave. Thor was staring at the billionaire like he was an alien, and he realized they would have noticed him talking to Loki.

"I have no idea," Tony admitted, looking at his English homework and avoiding all their eyes.

* * *

Tony walked into English the next day with his usual easy grin in place. He winked at some girl who was giving him a flirtatious smile, and his eyes quickly scanned the room for his study group. He hated the idea, really. Just because it had worked in freshman year in helping people's grades, that didn't mean it would work now that they were all grown up and separated into their own little social clichés and it was, quite frankly, messing with people's reputations.

When he saw that none of his friends were in class yet, he looked for Loki who, as he expected, was tucked away in a corner and doodling on his notebook.

Tony had been curious about ( _fascinated with_ , a part of his brain pointed out, which he shoved down) Loki Odinson for the better part of a year, but for all his genius, he hadn't worked out a way to talk to the other boy that didn't involve lowering his social status or the other boy kicking him some place tender. It had started when he'd attended Thor's birthday party last year and, on his quest to find the kitchen while slightly intoxicated (Thor's mansion was as big as his, so excuse him if he forgot how to get there while drunk) he'd accidentally interrupted Loki in what appeared to be an entertainment room. The boy had glared at him until Tony had managed, "I, uh, um, forgot where the kitchen is?"

He'd stumbled a bit, and expected the other boy to snap at him to get out, but to his surprise, the younger Odinson boy had gotten up, paused his movie, and had told Tony to follow him, because "as much as I'd love to see you fall down the stairs and injure yourself, that would make father come home, so I'll help you just this once."

Just as Loki had apparently predicted, Tony stumbled down the stairs and was only saved from certain concussion when a hand of long, pale fingers grabbed his wrist, and he was pulled up so Loki's arm was around his waist, holding him up. For such a skinny guy, he was actually quite strong.

Tony didn't remember much from after that, but he'd suddenly become obsessed with Loki's hands, and he'd admitted to himself a few months later that maybe he'd been staring at the boy a bit more than necessary.

So maybe Tony was a little attracted him. Whatever.

He made his way to the corner, and slipped into the seat beside Loki. This classroom, he was glad to note, had desks pushed together in pairs, and Loki would have to give up his place at the back of the room if he wanted to escape. Plus, they were in the same study group, so he had no excuse. Maybe the system wasn't as bad as Tony first thought.

"Go away, Stark." Loki said, not looking up from what he was drawing. Tony glanced at it curiously and saw that he was doodling was looked to be an eight legged horse.

"No," he replied, grinning. "You're in my study group now, and no-one else is here yet, so you'll have to put up with me for today."

Loki glared at him. "What do you  _want_ , Stark? Why are you talking to me? Aren't you afraid you'll catch the  _loser_ from me?" Tony frowned at the biting tone. Did this guy really hate him so much?

"Nah," he replied, leaning back. "You're not a loser; you just choose to be alone. Why is that, anyway?"

Loki looked back down at his drawing, a little shocked that Tony Stark of all people had made that observation. "What do you want?" he repeated, a little of the venom gone from his tone.

Stark shrugged. "We're supposed to be bonding?" he offered, and neither of them spoke again for the rest of the lesson.

When Natasha, Clint, Bruce and Steve showed up, they gave Tony questioning looks about who he was sitting with, but didn't make any comments as they took their places near him. Thor walked in and frowned at him, but as he opened his mouth to ask Tony what was going on, Miss Hill quieted the class.


	2. Chapter Two

"Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Clint asked from his place on Tony's bed. He, Natasha, Bruce, Thor and Steve were over, taking advantage of Howard being out of town, and the group of friends had been uncharacteristically quiet this afternoon.

"What? The fact that you and Bruce refuse to admit you're dating?" Tony quipped, and grinned in satisfaction when both of the boys in question went red and started spluttering out protests.

Natasha rolled her eyes from beside Clint. "I think he's talking about the fact that you, Tony, seem to have taken an interest in Loki."

Thor frowned as looked up from the video game he was playing with Steve. "Yeah, Tony? Why have you been talking to Loki so much lately? I saw you that first time at the notice board, then at our study group meeting, then you sat with him in English? What the hell, man?"

Tony did not like the direction this conversation had followed. He stared up at the ceiling. "I have no idea what's so odd about that. We're supposed to be bonding with him, right? I mean, obviously we don't need help bonding ourselves, so that leaves him, and I don't really want Hill to find out we've been ignoring him because, as much as she likes us, well, as much as she likes Steve, she'll kill us if she finds out that nobody made an effort, and she's terrifying. Not even you, Thor, but I totally get that because family problems, and maybe Clint can be excused for that incident in freshman year, but what's really wrong with the guy, anyway, and…"

"Tony," Steve cut him off, throwing a pillow at his head. "You're rambling."

"You only ramble when you're nervous," Natasha pointed out, smirking at him.

Tony glared. "You're full of shit, 'Tasha. And my point still stands."

Bruce nodded from his place on Tony's favourite armchair. "Tony's right, guys. I mean, has he ever done anything to us, minus Clint and Thor? Maybe we _should_  make an effort."

Clint grumbled. "He obviously doesn't want us to, so why bother?" Bruce kicked him.

"He obviously doesn't know how to  _react_  when people talk to him, because when was the last time you saw somebody other than a teacher talk to him?" the boy pointed out.

Thor looked uncomfortable at where this was heading. Though it was common knowledge he and Loki had for the most part ignored each other since Loki accidentally found his birth certificate and revealed they weren't blood brothers, he still felt guilty that he had given up trying to rekindle their once close relationship. He paused his game and looked at Tony. "I still don't understand you you've suddenly started talking to him, though. It's not like he's going to appreciate it, he hates you almost as much as he hates me."

Tony sighed. "I don't know guys, maybe I feel sorry for him?"

Then Bruce, bless his heart, asked a question about Natasha's self-defence classes and the conversation was steered away from Loki Odinson, though he lingered in each of their minds that afternoon.

Natasha was wondering why the boy refused to talk to people, and Clint was wondering why people suddenly cared about Loki so much. Bruce was thinking about the days before he'd been on the football team and had been practically invisible, and Steve was thinking about all the times he'd stood by and watched the boy be pushed and shoved by his old friends just because he was different. Thor was thinking about the days when he and Loki had played together and been inseparable, and Tony was thinking about that night the boy had helped him to the kitchen, how gentle he'd been and how different he'd acted, compared to the front he put up at school.

* * *

Loki was in the library at lunch the next day when the seat beside him was filled. It was something that had been happening an awful lot in the past week, he thought, but he looked up and saw not Stark, but Natasha Romanoff beside him, giving him a small smile.

"So Loki," she asked, pulling out her lunch. "It occurred to me that even though I've been friends with Thor for over two years, I barely know you at all. In fact, we've exchanged greetings what, three times? We should change that."

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. "I assure you, Romanoff, that this is completely unnecessary. I don't know what has gotten into you and Stark, but I really do not need you to talk to me, despite what that detestable booklet Miss Hill handed out says."

Natasha shrugged. "If you really want to go this whole year stuck with a whole bunch of people you hate, fine, I get it. But this is our senior year, and you don't want it to be  _too_ miserable, right? So wouldn't it be easier if you at least got to know a couple of us? It's not like I'm suggesting you hang out with us outside of school or become besties with Clint. Why  _do_  you hate us so much, anyway?"

Loki looked at her for a moment. "That's the way this school works. We're on completely different ends of the social ladder, Romanoff. We have no reason to even acknowledge each other's existence. But, if you must know, really the only people I genuinely hate in your little group at Thor and Stark. Other than that, I'm fine with not knowing any of you."

Natasha nodded, and packed up her things. "Okay, just curious."

"Just exactly have you and Stark threatened your reputations by talking to me?" Loki asked before she left.

Natasha gave him a small smirk. "We got our reputations completely by accident, Odinson. Our actions are not fuelled by the need to be everyone's favourite person."

"And yet you are," Loki pointed out.

She shrugged and walked away, leaving Loki to wonder what exactly was going on and why he'd had more peer interaction in the last week than he'd had since he was fourteen.

* * *

Loki hated Sundays. As much as loved the idea of not going to school, it still made him dread the upcoming Monday, where he'd be once again forced to surround himself with the embodiments of stupidity in the prison they called a school.

He went down to the kitchen on the Sunday after the first week of school, already dressed and ready to go to the local library. He did this every Sunday because Thor had his friends over constantly and he tried his best to minimise the risk of seeing any of them. A part of him resented his adoptive brother for forcing him to put up with the noise they made, but he didn't say anything because it would probably end up in another screaming match with the larger boy, and he had no wish for that.

Unfortunately, Loki had spent last night blasting his ears with music, so when he when he got to the door of the kitchen he couldn't help but groan at the sight of Thor, Stark, Romanoff and Banner at his kitchen table, obviously having spent the night.

Bracing himself, and wondering where Barton and Rogers were, Loki lifted his chin and entered the room, successfully cutting off the conversation the four were having. He ignored them the best he could, but while his coffee was being made (damn this slow machine) he had nothing to do but stare at his mug awkwardly, and he sighed in frustration when Stark greeted him.

"Good morning, sunshine," he said with an easy smile, and Loki turned around and raised an eyebrow at him.

"My morning stopped being good when I heard your voice, Stark."

The billionaire's son mock gasped and dramatically put his hand to his chest. "Why must you wound me so, Odinson?"

Natasha kicked him from under the table. "Shut it. Good morning, Loki." she said politely, nodding at him. The sentiment was echoed by Banner and Thor, and Loki was grateful for the coffee maker beeping to cut off the following awkward silence. He grabbed his drink and poured himself a bowl of cereal, and was about to leave when Banner said, "Oh, you don't have to leave because of us. We won't annoy you."

"Speak for yourself,"

"Shut up, Tony." That was Thor, and Loki forced himself to turn around and tried his best to school his features into a mask of politeness. Thor was staring at Loki. "Bruce is right; you can stay, if you want."

Despite himself, the part of Loki that was still an eight year old boy responded to the puppy dog eyes he was getting, and he found himself taking the only available seat next to Stark, who grinned at him. He resisted the urge to snack that look off his face and instead focussed on his coffee, allowing the warm feeling to spread through his body and relax him slightly.

The kitchen was silent for a while, before Stark broke the silence. "Where're you off to, Loki?" he asked conversationally, tilting his head to the side and studying Loki's outfit, much to the boy's dismay. He was wearing black skinny jeans, a grey and silver button down shirt and a black jacket, and realistically he knew there was nothing wrong with what he was wearing, but he felt as though he was being judged horribly.

He forced himself to be polite, however, having come to the conclusion that if he was nicer to Thor's friends, he'd be able to get through the year without any drama. "The library," he said.

"The library?" Stark asked incredulously.

"Yes, the library," Loki replied. "It's a large room filled with books where people who can read go."

Just because he was being nice, that didn't mean he wouldn't continue being his snarky self to people like Anthony Stark.

Natasha snorted into her breakfast, and Bruce smiled a bit. Stark looked at him for a moment before once again grinning. "I can read, I'll have you know! It's just that, you know, you're more dressed for a hot date than anything. I was under the impression people didn't wear three hundred dollar jeans to places like libraries. Unless you're meeting a girl there?"

Loki froze. Thor froze. Their eyes met for an awkward moment before they looked away. When Loki was barely fifteen, he had confided in Thor and Frigga that he was gay, and at the time Thor had taken it quite badly. He pushed Loki away, called him a  _fag_ , and though their mother had forced him to apologise, he'd not mentioned it since. That was almost three years ago, just before the adoption incident, and one of the major factors in the crumbling of their relationship. The birth certificate had merely been the last straw. Loki didn't know how his brother felt about his sexuality anymore, but at least he hadn't told anybody else. Hadn't given more people a reason to bully Loki even more badly than he already was. But they both couldn't help but freeze a little whenever they were reminded of it.

Stark seemed to have realized he'd said something wrong, so he quickly side tracked. "Or whatever. Doesn't matter. You can wear whatever you want, I guess. Looks good, anyhow."

Loki nodded, and got up from the table. He muttered a quick goodbye and rushed out the door.

The kitchen was silent again. "So," Natasha said finally. "What was the about? You two looked like deer caught in the headlights."

Thor looked ashamed of himself. "Loki… Loki doesn't date… uh, girls."

Realization appeared in the three guests eyes. "Oh!" Natasha said. "Why did he look like that, then? I mean, neither do Bruce or Clint, and Tony occasionally checks out guys, no matter what he says. Surely he knows you're okay with it?"

Thor looked down. "I am, but at the time, I… was less than accepting."

"Ah," Bruce grimaced. "When was that?"

"Nearly three years ago, he was fifteen."

Tony let out a low whistled, and played with his breakfast. He didn't want to say it, but he'd always gotten the impression that Loki had been the one to deliver the blow that had ruined the brothers' friendship. When it had happened, Thor had ranted plenty of times about how it was Loki's fault, how Loki was being unreasonable, but now, finding out that he'd confided such a thing with Thor and Thor had reacted badly? Well, he felt sort of sorry for the guy.

"No wonder he hates you." Tony muttered, unable to help himself. "Have you ever told him you don't think like that anymore?"

Thor clenched his fist and Tony realized he'd made the guy angry. "Loki did not appreciate my apologies back then, Tony. I doubt he'll appreciate them now."

Natasha shot Tony a warning look, so he let it go. "Whatever."

* * *

An hour and a half later, Tony was parked outside of the local library and completely unsure as to how he got there. Or why. That was a lie. He had a sneaking suspicion as to what possessed him to put this address into his GPS, but he was sort of in denial.

 _Loki_ , a part of his brain supplied.  _You want to check on Loki_.

 _Shut up, you traitor_ , he thought back.

He entered the building looking as casual as he could, wandering up the science fiction aisle, picking up a few books, and all the while scanning the large room for a sign of the younger Odinson. After a while, he saw the familiar long, dark hair, and casually made his way over to the boy who was sitting on a couch in the corner of the place, legs curled up and head stuck in a book.

Without a word, he plopped down on the small amount of available room and started reading the book he'd picked up, without actually reading it. He couldn't even remember what it was called.

Loki looked up and when he saw Stark, he felt like screaming. "Fancy meeting you here," he said sarcastically. "It's almost as though I'd told you where I was going to be over breakfast this morning or something."

Tony looked up from the book and grinned. "Oh, hello there. Yes, this  _is_  a coincidence, isn't it?"

Loki sat up, pulling his legs closer to him and rested his elbows on his knees. "What do I have to do to make you stop talking to me? Or stalking me, it seems."

Tony shrugged. "Nothing, really. Maybe I want to be your friend?"

"So you want to commit social suicide? Besides, what if I don't want to be _your_ friend?"

Tony winced a little at his tone. "I'm sorry," he blurted out. Loki raised an eyebrow at him and suddenly the genius was feeling uncomfortable. "I'm sorry about what I said at breakfast. I didn't realize it would bring back, uh, bad memories. With Thor."

Loki leaned back, his eyes suddenly losing all emotion. His face was blank. "So Thor told you."

Tony sighed. "Yeah, after you left."

"And you want to be my friend why?"

"Well, it's not like I care about if you like guys or whatever. I mean, I like guys. Sometimes. Especially when they wear pants like the ones you're wearing, 'cause  _damn_. The point is, I don't care. And you seem cool. I can't say I know you, but that's the impression I get, and what if I want to know you?"

Loki stared at him. "You… Like guys?"

Tony nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "Totally. I mean, I'm not gay or anything, but I'm not hetero. I'm just attracted to whatever. I mean, whoever."

"You were rambling."

"Yep. I do that."

They were silent for a moment. Tony stared at his hands while Loki stared at Tony, trying to see through a lie, looking for proof that his was a prank or something. All he saw was a small frown on the boy's face and it was just confusing.

"I can't be your friend," Loki said eventually, hugging his knees tighter. "You're popular, I'm not. You're Thor's friend… I'm his loner brother nobody pays attention to, or when they do, they're pushing me into lockers or calling me a range of supposedly hurtful nicknames I've been hearing since I was a kid. You're the guy who makes me annoyed just by being the same  _room_  as me."

"You  _can_  be my friend. I'm only popular because my dad's rich and famous. I don't care about stuff like that, anyway. You're only a loner because, from what I hear, you've had a fucked life. You choose solitude, I get it. Trust issues? Just a guess, don't give me that look. And… People bully you because no matter how hard they try, they can't break you, and that frustrates them. Plus, they haven't been bad lately, have they? I'm pretty sure Thor had words with some guys. And maybe if you got to know me you could stop being annoyed or whatever?"

Tony gave the younger boy his best puppy dog eyes, and almost ruined it by grinning when he saw the boy's lip curl into the tiniest smile.

"Right."

Tony waited for more, but didn't get any. "Right? Is that all?"

Loki nodded. "Right. You can try to be my friend, Stark, if you really want. You'll regret it when it fails and I just hate you more."

Then he got up and left, and Tony just sat there staring after him in slight shock.

"Did he just say  _yes_?"


	3. Chapter 3

Tony, Natasha, Bruce and Clint were at Steve's house that night. Thor would be there later, but he'd called Steve and told him he had a 'family issues'. They were all lounging in his bedroom, with Clint lying on his desk, Natasha and Tony competing for room on his bed, and he and Bruce on were beanbags in front of the TV, trying to pay attention to the movie they had all agreed on but no-one was actually watching.

"So Tony," Clint said casually. "When are you going to admit you want in Loki Odinson's pants?"

Everyone froze as Tony sat up immediately, eyes wide. "What?  _No_! What?"

Clint raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's not what I heard from 'Tasha."

Tony turned to the girl, who was glaring at Clint. "You traitor!" she cried. "You know that's just a theory!"

"A theory?" Tony asked, still internally freaking out. "Guys, what the hell? Just because I talked to him a few times it doesn't mean I want to sleep with him!"

Natasha shrugged, trying to look apologetic. "I just got that vibe this morning."

Steve frowned. "What happened this morning?"

"We stayed at Thor's house last night," Bruce offered. "Loki came down in the morning; Tony flirted with him, and made a comment about Loki going on a date when he said he was going to the library. The guy looked terrified. Thor told us it was because he'd told Thor he was gay years ago, and Thor, um... Reacted badly."

Clint narrowed his eyes. "Loki's gay? I knew it; no straight guy wears those sorts of pants that confidently. Oh, and how badly?"

"Didn't say," Tony cut it. "But we sorta figured it was really badly. And Bruce, we weren't supposed to tell them!"

The guy shrugged. "Oh well, they would have found out eventually. Anyway, so Loki left after Tony made that stupid comment, and when he found out why he was so upset, Tony got all moody and weird then left not soon after."

Tony buried his face in his hands. "I just felt bad for him! His own brother rejecting him like that! That shit is important! I mean, he said Loki was fifteen, so that wasn't long before he found out he was adopted? That must be one of the reasons they hate each other so much or something."

He looked up through his fingers a bit. Natasha was staring at him with that look she got, like she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Where did you go, anyway? You said you had something urgent."

Tony felt his face go bright red, and didn't take his hands away. He mumbled something under his breath, and she leaned forward. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that?" She raised an eyebrow.

Tony raised his head. "I, uh, may have gone to the library."

The whole group groaned, and Clint started pelting Tony with every cushion and pillow he could find. Damn his perfect aim. Natasha smacked him on the back of the head.

"Why did you do that? Did you say anything to him?  _Why_  are you so interested in him, if you're not trying to get into his pants?"

Tony didn't meet her eyes. "We just talked a bit. I don't know. Maybe I just want to be his friend? He looks like he needs a friend. And he's cool enough. I mean, he's smart. Can keep up with me in conversation, from what I've heard, recently, at least. Okay, don't say it; I know I'm rambling again. But this thing happened last year at Thor's party, and he helped down some stairs or whatever, and maybe I've sorta had the tiniest crush on him since then, because I remember him having really nice hands, and anyway, you have to feel sorry for him, because he's stuck with us this year and I'm trying to make it more bearable for him because maybe I want to do something for someone else for a change?"

He took a deep breath while his friends looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"You  _do_  have a crush on him? Because of his  _hands_?" Clint asked incredulously.

He rolled over and buried his face into one of Steve's pillows, giving his friend the finger and ignoring them all until Bruce hesitantly brought the conversation to his history class, and they let him be. For now. Thank God for Bruce.

* * *

 

Loki was lying on his bed, tired and emotionally drained from the fight he'd just had with Thor.

His brother had stormed up to his room, demanding to know if anything was "going on" between him and Stark (where did  _that_  come from?). If that wasn't enough, he'd gone on to say he was frustrated because of the way Loki had acted when Stark had made that comment about him being gay, to which Loki replied that how was he supposed to know Thor felt bad about what had happened, and he had no right to tell them about Loki's sexuality anyway.

Things had progressed until they were shouting in each other's faces about God knows what, then Thor had stormed out the door saying something about Steve's house, and had left Loki fuming.

Then, the anger had drained away and he felt  _tired_ , and he  _couldn't fucking sleep_.

His phone buzzed, and he stared at it a few moments, confused, because the only people who had his number were Thor, his parents and his childhood friend Sif, who hadn't spoken to him in nearly a year, and hadn't seen him in longer.

He opened the text and stared.

_I stole your number off Thor. He walked in complaining about how evil you are. Now he's raiding Steve's fridge. I figured you got into a fight. Are you okay? – Tony_

Tony Stark was going to be the death of him.

_Why do you care? –L_

_I'm trying to be your friend. You could always make this easy on me? –T_

_No, I don't think I will. And we did have a fight, about you. Thor was under the impression we were secretly sleeping together, or something of the sort. –L_

_We'd be great friends. With our combined brainpower, we could take over the world. And he thought that? I don't know whether to be amused or scandalised. –T_

_I doubt either of us would be able to work together with somebody else for the amount of time it takes to take over the world. And I set him straight, don't worry. I assured him that the day I slept with you would be the day that I was best friends with Barton. –L_

_We could make it work. And ouch, that hurt. You sure you don't want a piece of this? –T_

_Why are we even having this conversation? –L_

_Hey, that's a good point, we're having a conversation! And you haven't even told me that you hate me yet! This is the first step to friendship. –T_

Loki swore.

_I hate you. –L_

_I love you, too. –T_

_Goodnight, Stark. –L_

_Goodnight, sweetheart. –T_

_Go die. –L_

* * *

Tony grinned at his phone, pleased with the conversation. He felt Natasha lean over his shoulder, so he quickly closed his messages and put the phone away.

"Who were you texting?"

Tony shrugged. "Oh, no one."

She shot him a look. "Where did you get his number?"

Tony cursed the woman and her secret-agent ways of knowing everything. "Fuck. I stole it off the big guy, okay? I just wanted to see if he was okay."

She had the audacity to look amused. "A  _tiny_  crush, you say?"

He bit his lip and didn't try to deny it. As much as he wanted to be Loki's friend, because that was not an excuse, he couldn't deny that he had entertained the idea of dating him a couple of times in the last few months, particularly this week. Because he couldn't help but notice the way Loki's legs looked good in skinny jeans, or how his lips curved into those tiny smiles he didn't think anybody saw, and how nice his voice was, with that English accent that is like honey or something and oh dear Lord was Tony turning into a woman?

Natasha just gave him a knowing look, and one thing he had to admit he liked about 'Tasha is that she didn't need to ask, she just knew and she didn't bother giving her opinions where she wasn't involved. He liked that she was down to Earth and wasn't too judgemental but still didn't take shit.

"I talked to him the other day," she said, taking a seat beside him. They were in Steve's lounge room now, and the others were in the kitchen fighting over what pizza they wanted to order. "Tried being nice, but I knew it was a wasted effort. Got shot down. However, he did make a comment about our reputations, so obviously he thinks we care about things like that. He's okay, though. If you think about it. His sarcasm and attitude are obviously the effect of not really having friends since early middle school. It sort of makes me feel bad for him being right there, but we've always stuck by his brother, taken Thor's word for it that Loki's the one who wronged him."

"You guys aren't still talking about him, are you?" Clint groans as he walks in and takes the empty seat beside Natasha. "I am so sick of hearing about Loki and Tony's endeavours to get in his pants."

"You're a filthy liar, Barton."

"Whatever." The archer waved a hand vaguely in Tony's direction. "Stop talking about him, anyway. It's bad enough being around the guy in person, but thinking about him other times? Not on."

* * *

At lunch on Monday, the school was in a state of confusion and possibly panic. Everyone was whispering, like the volume of their voice would make it okay for them to talk about it, and nearly every eye in the cafeteria was trained on one table in the back corner, where Loki Odinson ( _loner, freak, emo_ ) was glaring at Tony Stark ( _popular, rich, playboy_ ) who had completely forgone his usual table with his friends, and had decided to spend lunch with the resident outcast.

Loki could sense the eyes on him, and hoped his glare was vicious enough to send the message that this was a very, very bad idea.

Their conversation was going something like this.

"What are you doing, Stark?"

"Eating with you, what else?"

"Please leave."

"No, I don't think I will."

"People are staring."

"Let them."

"Your friends are staring. I can see them. Thor looks confused and angry. Barton looks annoyed. I think Romanoff is smirking."

"I can imagine that. Good for them."

" _Everyone_  is staring."

"That's nice."

"Stark, I don't want to eat with you, and face the inevitable questions from my brother. Please leave, makes this easier on both of us."

"Tony."

"Pardon?"

"Call me Tony."

"If I call you Tony, will you leave?"

"Sure, okay."

"Okay. Please leave,  _Tony._ "

"I lied. But hey, I like the way my name sounds with your accent."

Loki clenched his fist and wondered when this guy had gotten immune to his glares. Most people would have peed themselves by now.

Tony was digging himself a grave by sitting with Loki, and he knew it. There would be rumours flying around the school within an hour, probably everything from he and Loki being lovers to long-lost relatives to having killed someone together. He knew, because this was the way the school always reacted when somebody, especially somebody popular, did something that wasn't considered normal, or talked to someone who wasn't in their clique. Like when Thor had first started dating Jane, a science nerd, or when Clint had quit the football team.

He didn't really care what they thought, though. Yeah, he may not get as much female attention after this for a while, because of course there were going to be rumours that he was gay, but he didn't really care. He'd already casually dated all the interesting single girls in this place, so he wasn't suffering too much of a loss.

He got a text just as he was about to speak again.

_You, sir, have a lot of explaining to do to a lot of people. –N_

He glanced over his shoulder at his usual table, and noticed almost everyone with their heads down, texting. Even Jane, her friend Darcy, and Pepper apparently had something to say. He braced himself, and received another seven texts in quick succession.

Loki raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as the phone buzzed.

_Clint says you're trying to sleep with Loki. I'll probably have to kill you. Stop. Now. Come back and sit with us. He's my BROTHER.–T_

_You're an idiot, but I know I can't stop you. Loki looks pissed, don't make him too angry. –B_

_What the fuck is wrong with you. The whole school thinks you two are sleeping together now. Also, I just heard a girl at the next table say something about how all the girls you date are cover-ups for your suppressed homosexuality. –C_

_You never were one for being subtle when coming onto people. I can feel the flirtatious vibes from here. It doesn't look like he appreciates it, though. –S_

_Thor can't stop going on about how he's going to kill you if you don't come over here right this very moment. Just a warning.–J_

_I never took you for gay. But hey, I can't blame you- Loki's ass looks great in those pants. The big guy's pissed, though. –D_

_Tony, I've known you for years, and this is possibly the worst idea you have ever had. –P_

He closed his phone without replying and turned his attention to Loki again.

"Aren't you going to reassure them of your sanity, Stark?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. He seemed to have realized Tony wasn't going anywhere any time soon. Tony shrugged.

"Nope. They're all under the impression I want you in my bed."

Something flashed in Loki's eyes. "And do you?" it sounded like an honest question, so he decided he would, for once, not answer it with a joke.

"It sort of was my main aim, at the beginning." he admitted. "Well, not to get you in my bed. I wanted to date you."

Loki scoffed, obviously not buying it. "Oh, and now?"

"I just want to be your friend now, first and foremost. But hey, if 'I hate you' is secretly code for 'Tony, you're amazing, please be with me', I'd be more than happy to take you up on that."

"I hate you," Loki said, feeling uncharacteristically unsure of how to respond, so he went with snark. "Is code for nothing. And you can't expect me to believe you. People like you don't date people like me.  _Guys_  like me." He was aware that his voice sounded incredibly half-hearted, and his tone wasn't nearly vicious enough. In fact, he sounded... Well, unsure. God fucking dammit.

Tony noticed. He'd been paying attention for Loki for nearly a year. He'd stared at him subtly in class, he'd watched him when he'd visited Thor over the summer, and now, it was only the second week of class, and he'd been pulled in yet again by this guy, who was still very much a mystery. But if there was one thing he was confident in his analysis of, it was Loki's voice.

And now, Loki was unsure and slightly vulnerable, and he'd probably hit a sore spot. He wondered if the boy, who was nearly eighteen, had ever even been with someone before. Probably not.

"Well," he said, leaning forward a bit and resting his elbows on the table. "I'm not about to ask you on a date and declare my love for you loudly in the cafeteria." Loki felt his face go a little red, despite himself. Tony grinned. "But friends, yeah, you should let me do that. I won't even ask you to hang out with Thor and Clint and the rest. Just us? Hanging out? I want to pick that brain of yours. It seems interesting."

Loki raised an eyebrow, and found himself leaning in a little. "Oh, really? What if I say no? I hate you."

"No, you don't. And you won't say no."

Loki frowned. "What makes you say that?"

Tony smiled. "You don't hate me, because if you did, you would have walked away ages ago. You wouldn't have said 'Right' at the library and you wouldn't have had that text conversation with me last night. And you won't say no because I can see in your eyes that you want this chance to be accepted, be considered normal. You won't say no because you know I won't' judge you about your sexuality, because I pretty much just admitted to wanting to date you, and I won't judge you for being a little bit of a nerd- don't give me that look, you once came to school in a Harry Potter shirt- because you know I'm a nerd, too. I mean, I make robots and read science text books for fun when I'm not with my friends. We're just slightly different types of nerds, and I disguise it well."

Loki stared at him in disbelief. "You talk too much."

"You talk too little," Tony shot back. Loki realized then that their heads were really close together, and they were staring at each other, and it probably looked really bad from an outsider's perspective. Slowly, he sat up again, and watched the other boy do the same.

"Fine," he said eventually, after a few minutes of silence. "Fine, you can try to be my friend. Don't think I want to spend time with your little group over there, because I won't. And don't think I'm going to be suddenly nice to you just because I'm allowing you this opportunity." He stood up and grabbed his book bag. Stark was smiling at him like Christmas came early, and his mouth betrayed him by offering the billionaire's son a small smile in reply.

"Hey," said Tony, standing up with him. "It would just be weird if you were nice to me." He offered Loki his hand, and the other boy shook it hesitantly.

"Goodbye, Stark. I supposed I'll be seeing you at my house this afternoon for that stupid study group?"

Tony winked. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

 

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4

So maybe he should have had that conversation in private, Tony realized, as he approached his friends who were looking at him with varying degrees of shock, amusement and annoyance. He didn't say anything as he took a seat beside Bruce, and pretended to be interested with his phone, instead. It was useless, because they all knew that the only people who really texted him were all at that table, and were probably expecting answers. He briefly considered telling them that it was none of their business, but that was a stupid idea and he knew it. They knew everything about him, he told them everything, and they knew how to weasel information out of him if it was necessary. Especially Natasha and Clint.

"Tony," Thor spoke first, and Tony had to force himself not to cringe at his dangerous tone. "What's going on between you and my brother?"

"I'm pretty sure he smiled at you," Steve said. "Loki doesn't smile. Ever. What were you talking about?"

Tony put on an air of nonchalance. "Oh you know, a whole number of things. Nothing that really stands out. The weather, the economy, uh, classes. And stuff."

"Your heads were pretty close," Darcy said. "Totally thought you two were gonna kiss. You can't say that the eyes you were giving each other were nothing. You'd make a hot couple, FYI."

"Tell me nothing's going on between you two, and or I swear to God I will bash your head in."

"Whoa!" Tony said, sitting up straight at Thor's threat. "It's fine! Nothing's happening! We're just, uh, I dunno. He'd kill me if I said friends, but he said he'd let me try to be his friend, or whatever. I mean, does it  _look_  like the guy would ever be with me? He still glares at me every chance he's got."

"Then why agree to be your, um, acquaintance?" Bruce pointed out. "He obviously doesn't hate you as much as he wants you to believe."

"Does it matter?" Tony asked, for once not enjoying the attention directed his way. It was all negative, disbelieving, questioning, and it quite frankly annoyed him. They still obviously didn't believe he could seriously want to be Loki's friend without hitting on him twenty-four-seven, and while he'd never given them any reason to suspect otherwise, it would be nice of them to have a little faith. Plus, he knew the answer to Bruce's question, but for some reason telling all these people, all these people Loki disliked (for the most part, he had a suspicion that Loki respected Natasha and Bruce to a degree), would be a horrible invasion on the guy's privacy or trust or something. He knew that Loki agreed because he was, secretly, lonely. That he obviously craved for human connection because from what he'd heard, he probably didn't get it from many people except his mother. Not even his father was overly nice to his adopted son, Tony knew, from the interactions he'd seen at the Odinson household.

Tony knew that he had been one step away from being very much like Loki. Rich, daddy problems, too many brains to really fit in and the big difference was that Tony had decided to use his money and brains to make friends, and Loki had chosen to seclude himself and avoid people altogether.

Eventually they stopped bothering him, and Tony was eternally grateful for Bruce's ability to know when to change the subject before Tony'd had enough. He knew it wasn't over, though.

* * *

 

_Thor won't stop staring/glaring at me. It made dinner extremely uncomfortable. Then he asked me about you right in front of my parents and now they're suddenly under the impression that we're best friends. I hate you. This is all your fault. My mother keeps asking about you and won't take "we're not even friends" for an answer. I hope you die slowly and painfully, Stark. –L_

_Die slowly and painfully, isn't that a little harsh? I mean, die, sure. But the slow and painful bit is unnecessary. And why don't you just tell her we're friends and be done with it? I know your mother, she can be very insistent. Tell her "Hi" from me. –T_

_You do realize if I tell her "Anthony Stark says hello" it would just fan the flame? So no. And we're not friends, Stark. Not even close. Also, I mean every word I say- Slowly and painfully. –L_

_Here's my friendship checklist: Texting, Eating meals together, seeing each other outside of school, sitting together in class, and knowing at LEAST the basics about each other. We've got that all down, don't you think? And if I call you Loki, you can call me Tony. It's not that hard. –T_

_We've eaten one meal together (actually, you weren't even eating, or maybe you're counting Sunday morning?), we've seen each other outside of school once, and that wasn't planned, and that is not counting when I see you while you visit Thor. We sit together in class because the teacher forces us to, and you know it. And I know the basics about plenty of people who aren't my friends. And maybe one day, if you're incredibly, incredibly lucky, you'll live to hear me call you Tony. Until then, STARK, live with it. –L_

_Choose one: Either you admit we're friends, or you call me Tony. Oh hey, I just remembered, why didn't you show up to study group? It was your house, surely it wasn't too far out of your way? We knocked on your door- were you not there, or did you just ignore us? It was the second week- Hill would have a fit if she found out.–T_

_Okay, then. We're friends. Uh, that word sounds bad just writing it. And I was at the library, if you must know, catching up on the reading you interrupted yesterday. I know you just did your homework again, which I'd already finished, and do you really think I would want to face the look and possibly questions about our conversation at lunch? No, it was easier just to leave the house until it was emptied of... you. –L_

_YES! SUCCESS! WOOO! FRIENDS! Ha, you caved! I knew you would. Admit it, there's got to be a small part of you that likes me. –T_

_I only caved because you gave me an ultimatum. And don't go announcing our "friendship" to the world, Stark, or I will kill you. And I will admit no such thing. I'm sleeping now, if you don't mind. Goodnight. –L_

_Sleep?! It's only seven! You cannot be tired. –T_

_Well, I have nothing better to do, do I? Sleep is better than boredom. –L_

Tony stared at his phone for a long time, considering his next words.

_What if I took you some place? I know a really good all-night cafe near my place. It's full of hipsters, but they have really good coffee. And no-one from SHIELD ever go there. What do you say? First official act of friendship? I'll buy. I can be over at yours in ten minutes. –T_

Loki didn't reply for a long time. He was having an internal war, one part of him wanting to go and the other part telling him he was in idiot.

_I must be insane, but okay. –L_

Tony grinned triumphantly as he grabbed his coat and keys and headed out.

* * *

 

Loki tried his best to leave the house quietly when he saw Stark's car pull up. Technically, he didn't have a curfew, and Thor was still out with Jane so his parents had no reason to stop him, but it felt extremely foreign, leaving at the house at night to spend time with his, ugh, friend. He didn't want Odin or Frigga asking about it, which they were bound to do if they saw him sneaking around like this and-

"Loki, sweetheart, where are you off to?" Frigga's surprised voice drifted down from the kitchen and Loki had to stop himself from cursing. His mother had too good hearing for him to think he'd get away with this without questioning.

"I'm going out," he said as she appeared around the doorway.

"With a friend?" his mother asked, a sly smile curling on her lips. He groaned internally, knowing where she was going with this. "With Tony?"

Loki sighed in defeat. "Fine, yes. I'm going out with Anthony Stark. Are you happy now?"

She grinned outright at him. "You  _know_  I am, honey. Don't be out too late." With a wink ( _a wink!_ ) she disappeared and left Loki glaring half-heartedly after her. He quickly snapped himself out of it and exited the house, though, not wanting to run into any other family members.

When he hopped into the passenger seat of the billionaire's car, he suddenly realized he had no idea what to say.

"Hey," Stark said, grinning at him and pulling out of Loki's driveway. "I can't believe you agreed to this."

"Neither can I," Loki drawled. "There must be something very wrong with my head today."

"Or," Tony suggested, still grinning in that way that made Loki want to smack him. "You just can't resist my good looks and charm."

Loki had to stop himself from smiling. "No, I'm pretty sure it's my head."

Stark laughed, and for a fleeting moment, Loki thought that maybe he liked the sound. He shoved those thoughts out of his head, though.

Most of the drive was spent in silence, for which they were both grateful. Neither would ever admit it, but they were both quite nervous about this simple coffee date as "friends" and worries were flying through their heads at a million miles per hour.

Loki was worrying because he had no idea how to interact with Stark in such a social setting, or what on Earth they were going to talk about. He was worrying because Frigga would probably mention this to Odin or Thor, who he really did not want to explain this to, and he was worrying because he was allowing himself to encourage Stark's idea of this friendship, even though it was a bad idea.

Tony was worrying because he desperately, desperately didn't want to screw this up, when only twenty minutes ago Loki had agreed to be his friend. He was worrying that maybe a coffee date was too date-like at such a fragile point in their relationship, and he was worrying that the conversation might lull and it would become awkward. He was worrying about what his friends would say if they knew about it.

The cafe Tony had spoken about was small, cosy, and dimly lit by yellow lights scattered across the room. It wasn't bust, with only a few people hanging around, but the sign did advertise that it was opened until twelve, so Loki figured that maybe it got busier as the night progressed. Tony showed Loki to a booth in one of the back corners that meant they were partially hidden from sight by a large pot plant. He took Loki's order (large latte, one sugar) and came back five minutes later with their drinks.

"So," Tony said, sipping his own black coffee. "What type of books do you read?"

Loki looked mildly surprised at the question. "Everything, really," he said. "Crime, murder mysteries. Fantasy is good, and you can't go wrong with science fiction. Uh, what about you? What types of things do you do your spare time?"

Tony's face lit up, and it was clear he liked talking about himself. "I make things. Robots, that sort of stuff. Invent things. I'm working on an artificial intelligence at the moment, a _real_  one, called Jarvis. To do things for me, so I can upload him onto my computer, phone, car, everything, and he can make calls, Google things for me. He should be finished in a month or two, really, if I have the time."

Loki smiled a bit. "You really are a genius, aren't you?"

Tony grinned. "My, my, Loki, did you just compliment me?"

Loki narrowed his eyes and cursed himself internally for slipping like that. "Temporary insanity, Stark, I assure you. It won't happen again."

"Why not? There's nothing wrong with complimenting a friend. I'll give you an example: Loki, you totally make that hair work. See?"

Loki looked down at his drink, willing the slight red tinge from his cheeks. "Whatever," he mumbled, and Tony laughed. The guy leaned forward across the table and waved his hand in front of Loki's face.

"Come on, it's okay! It won't kill you to be nice once, you know."

"It could, I've never tried. I could be allergic to niceness."

"That would be tragic."

And, somehow, the conversation progressed from there. They talked for an hour, and weren't even aware of the time passing, or the fact that Loki was supposed to hate Tony, or that Loki was laughing and smiling outright by the end of it. They spoke about anything and everything- school, what they wanted to do at the end of the year, and even, very briefly, their families. Tony explained that his parents were out of town for the most part on business for the company Tony was to one day inherit, so he had free reign of his house for the most part, which was why he had chance to build things like Jarvis. Loki told Tony about how, because of his strained relationship with his family, he mainly stayed indoors and read, which was why he was so ahead in so many of his classes.

"Well then," Tony said. "We should change that."

And Loki realized he just sat and almost poured his heart out to Anthony Stark. They were sitting here, at eight o'clock at night, on their third cup of coffee having not only a civilised conversation, but a friendly one, about personal things, and he was supposed to hate this boy but he'd been smiling and laughing and showing weakness and vulnerability and Stark didn't try to use it against him.

"You okay there, Loki?"

So maybe he was making a bad decision. Maybe this would all do down the drain and he could end up more lonely and miserable than ever. No, not maybe- he  _was_  making a bad decision. He knew that, but he was making it anyway because this last hour had been the happiest he'd been since he was a kid. Loki couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled so much, and as much as he tried to deny it, it was a nice feeling, to connect with someone, someone who wasn't judging him and wasn't planning on hurting him. In fact, Stark was the opposite- he was trying to be Loki's friend. He wanted to be Loki's friend. Hell, he wanted to be Loki's boyfriend, which was a puzzle in itself, and though he didn't have any plans on acting on Stark's attraction to him, it still felt nice.

Loki him right in the eye and smiled.

"I'm fine, Tony."

* * *

 

Tony insisted, on Tuesday, that he give Loki a ride to school. Friends, he had told the younger boy, did things like this, and he was not going to take no for an answer. Loki groaned, hung up the phone, and got ready, and had to face the horrible ordeal of informing his mother he was getting a ride to school from Tony Stark- in front of Odin and Thor.

His mother had, predictably, been overly happy and clapped her hands together excitedly, grinning at him like she knew something Loki didn't. Thor had choked on his cereal, demanded to know why, and Loki had ignored him because he didn't want to deal with him this early in the morning. Odin had narrowed his one eye suspiciously, but had said nothing, for which Loki was grateful.

His father was probably just worried that Howard Stark was his business rival.

When Loki got out of Tony's car at school, he did his best to avoid the gazes of, well, everyone. A group of cheerleaders nearby that Natasha was talking to were staring at Loki with a mixture of disgust and jealousy. He would be amused if he didn't absolutely despise the fact that he was getting all this attention. Tony came up to walk beside him as they walked into the school building.

"I should kill you," Loki hissed, trying his best to look unaffected by the stares. He had only just started feeling comfortable in the billionaire's presence, and it was a change to go from nobody to  _"Oh my god is that like Tony Stark's boyfriend or whatever or maybe they're secretly long-lost related does anyone know either way that guy's weird"._ Loki turned his worst glare at the girl who had whispered  _that_ a bit too loudly, and she went pale and turned away. Well, at least he still scared people.

"Oh, they'll get over it," Tony said, completely at ease. He shot Loki a grin.

"You do realize most of the school are under the impression that we're  _dating_?" Loki's mouth curled into a grimace at the word. Tony nodded, amused.

"Yep, they would. High schoolers are notorious for gossiping, Loki. Haven't you even seen _any_  high school movie  _ever_?"

"Doesn't that bother you at all? Many people are still a bit, uh, narrow minded when it comes to... well..."

"Gays? Yeah I know." Tony shrugged. "But I doubt they'd be brave enough to mess with us- I mean, our dads are the most rich and powerful in town. If they have opinions, they'd be idiots to say them to our faces."

Loki sighed in exasperation as they reached Tony's locker. "We're not even together, though," he said. "Maybe I don't want people to think we're like that? Fuck, we're barely friends."

Tony opened his locker and grabbed a few books. "Yeah, well, they're all too scared to ask us outright and there's really nothing we can do to dissuade them."

"How about we stop this whole friendship thing and go back to the way things were last year?"

Tony frowned as he slammed the locker closed and they started walking again. "Geez, Loki, don't sound too hopeful."

Loki shrugged. "It was worth a try."

The billionaire's son pouted and gave Loki his best 'puppy dog eyes'. When all he got in response was a sceptically sceptical raised eyebrow, he said, "So you  _don't_ want to be my friend?"

Loki's mouth turned down at the corner. "Well, I supposed I do. You're not all that bad, really. I am just opposed to the idea of being friends with anyone, generally."

"Did you just compliment me? And don't say things like that. It's... Well, it's slightly depressing."

"Be sad about your own problems, Stark- Uh, Tony."

"Are you implying I have problems?"

The taller boy just offered him a smirk and started heading towards their first class- English. It occurred to him, as Tony caught up, that he was probably going to be questioned by their "study group" as to why they had arrived at school together. He said as much to his new friend, who laughed.

"Oh, yeah, probably. I'll, um, keep them restrained, don't worry."

Loki grimaced. "How about you make sure they don't talk to me at all? This could be avoided if Miss Hill had used her common sense and had put me in a different group."

"Yeah, but if she had, I never would have had an opportunity to talk to you."

Loki shot him a questioning look. "An opportunity? You were looking for one?"

Tony's smile froze, and dropped, before coming back again, a little forced. "Yep, I never said that."

"Oh, but you did."

"No, I didn't."

"So, you were waiting for an opportunity to talk to me? So you wanted to talk to me before the beginning of the year?"

Tony's mouth quirked down and he didn't meet Loki's eyes. "Fine. Yes. Whatever."

Loki smirked at him. "I wasn't... Aware... That you were wanting to talk to me. May I ask why?"

Tony tried to act casual, but he risked a glance at his friend and saw that, yeah, he wasn't doing succeeding. Loki just waiting patiently until they were outside the English classroom, with a few minutes to spare until class started.

"Okay, promise not to be weirded out?"

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Oh dear, what is it?"

Tony sighed. "Okay, remember last year at Thor's birthday party? I sorta stumbled across you while drunk and you helped me to the kitchen."

The taller boy frowned. "Yes?"

"I've been... Considering being your friend. Since I realized that you're not all snark and sarcasm and vicious, vicious words."

Loki leaned against the wall and watched Tony's face carefully. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Tony said. "Uh, I started paying attention to you."

The bell rang for class, and the boys stepped into the classroom to take their seats. Loki didn't say anything. His mind was trying to figure out what that even meant.

In the end, the interrogation (carried out by Natasha, Clint and Thor, with moral support from Steve and Bruce) was not nearly as bad as Loki imagined it would be. It actually wasn't as much of an interrogation than it was the three of them asking, "Are you friends now?" getting a (somewhat reluctant) affirmative from Loki, and then simply asking a series of questions such as "when did you decide this", "have you been hanging out" and "you're actually not dating?"

Loki managed to escape English class mostly unscathed, except for the discomfort he still felt from Thor's hard stares and the outright glares he got from Barton. After they'd finished questioning him, his unfortunate study group had for the most part ignored him, only attempting a few times to politely engage him in conversation, and even Tony had let him do his work in peace.

It was almost pleasant.

Almost.

* * *

 

Loki drifted through the rest of the day without incident, managing to ignore the stares and brush of the questions he gets from his peers, who had probably never even considered talking to him until they saw that he was in Tony Stark's good books. Even a few girls came up to him, smiled in what Loki assumed was an attempt to be sexy, but of course instead of responding to their advances, the Odinson simply informed them that they looked like they had gas. It was amusing to see their faces.

"You could be nice," came a voice behind Loki after he rejected a girl who had once spread a rumour about him in middle school. "Girls can take rejections pretty harshly."

Loki turned to face Tony, who was leaning against the Odinson's locker, and shrugged. "I'm not about to be nice to these girls, Tony. They're all, well, bitches."

The billionaire smirked. "The word  _bitches_  sounds funny in you accent."

Loki rolled his eyes and motioned for his friend to step away from his locker. Once he'd grabbed the books he needed for his homework, he set off in the direction of the car-park.

"So, are you going to give me a ride home, or abandon me?"

Tony faked an offended look. "I would never! Besides, I have plans for us this afternoon!"

"And pray tell, what are these plans?"

"You're coming over and we're having a movie marathon. My parents are out of town, so it'll just be us and my giant TV and  _popcorn_."

"What if I say no?"

"You won't," said Tony confidently. "I know you won't."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"

"Because I'm fantastic, and besides, you haven't been to my house since we were like, ten! You have to see how awesome my room looks these days."

"I remember," Loki said thoughtfully, remembering back to the days he used to play with Tony. "That you had Superman bed sheets."

Tony went red as they reached his car. "Yeah, well, they're better these days."

"What are they now?"

"...Batman."

Loki let out a surprised laugh, one of his rare ones that Tony secretly savoured. Several of their peers stared at him in shock at the display of humour.

"Well, that's much better," he conceded as they got into the car. 

* * *

 

 


End file.
